On 29 August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans and much of the surrounding area. CH-47 Chinook helicopters from several U.S. Army National Guard units and from the country of Singapore assisted in the disaster relief operation. A few weeks later, Hurricane Rita rain-soaked the already flooded out areas, wreaking further havoc.

6 September 2005: The crew of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter uses a water basket to drop water on two house fires in downtown New Orleans, Louisianna. The Chinook was part of a joint military and civilian effort to assist firefighters on the ground fighting the blazing house fires. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

7 September 2005: An Army National Guard CH-47D Chinook helicopter drops 15,000-pound bags of sand into a levee that gave way in New Orleans. The Army National Guard along with the Navy, Army, Marines, Air Force, and Coast Guard have been mobilized to take part in Joint Task Force Katrina, a humanitarian assistance operation in a joint effort led by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in conjunction with the Department of Defense.

8 September 2005: Ohio National Guardsmen unload ice from the cargo hold of a Chinook helicopter after landing in a rural area to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina in Mississippi on Thursday.

7 September 2005: U.S. Army National Guard Warrant Officers Charles Woodward and Lance Brennan, pilots of a CH-47D Chinook assigned to the 131st Aviation Regiment of the Georgia National Guard, fly over areas that were flooded when Hurricane Katrina devastated parts of New Orleans, La. The humanitarian assistance operations is a joint effort led by the Department of Defense in conjunction with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

9 September 2005: Army National Guardsmen Specialist Clint Aucoia and Private First Class Christopher Tiffit attach cargo hooks supporting large sandbags to a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. The sandbags are being used to plug a New Orleans levee which was breached during Hurricane Katrina. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

14 September 2005: Soldiers hook pallets of supplies to the underside of a CH-47 Chinook at Naval Air Station New Orleans, so that relief can be delivered to the storm-ravaged city. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

16 September 2005: Soldiers from Company B, 5th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment, help FEMA search-team members carry their boats into a CH-47D Chinook helicopter after looking for survivors who wish to be rescued from the flood-ravaged town of Empire, Louisianna. Click-N-Go Here to view a larger image.

25 September 2005: A Chinook helicopter approaches with sandbags to repair the breach in the Industrial Canal levee in New Orleans. The storm surge created by Hurricane Rita eroded repairs made after Katrina and sent water surging back into the already devastated Ninth Ward.

Dropping the sandbags creates quite a splash as they hit the water flowing over the levee.